Fastener



F. Ar NODINE Jane 31?, 195@ FASTENER Filed Nov. 30, 1945 lllllllhll.

F- I 2YVENTO/Q;

HIS ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 17, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I Q i I 2,494,669

FASTENER Frederick A. Nodine, Terryville, @onn, assignor to The Cooper Oven Thermometer (Jompany, Pequabuck, Conn., a corporation-of (lonneeticut Application November 30, 1945, Serial No. 632.012

invention relates .to fasteners and comall of the features of novelty herein (disclosed. An object of the invention is to provide an improved fastener for securing a flanged housing to e. panel. The invention "is herein disclosed as appliedto the iastening of .an oven thermometer to an oven door but it will be understood that the fastener is applicable to the securing of various instruments to instrument panels. To this end and also to improve generally and specifically upon devices of this character, the invention consists in the various matters hereinafter described and claimed. In its broader aspects, the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific construction selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front view.

Fig. 2 is a central cross section with one fastener shown in locking position and one shown in a position preliminary to being sprung into locking position.

Fig. 3 is a rear view.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the fasteners.

Fig. 5 is a front view and Fig. 6 is a, side view of Fig. 4.

The numeral 2 indicates a portion of an oven door or similar panel which has an oversize circular opening to receive an instrument housing 4 having an outwardly extending flange 6. In this instance the flange is a curved ornamental bead at the outside of the door. The housing is provided with a pair of opposite openings 8 each of which is adapted to receive a bent finger or a lug ID on one of the fasteners. The finger projects through the opening from a U-shaped spring portion l2 bent up from the middle of a generally flat base l4 having two resilient arms IS. The arms diverge from the center and are generally arcuate. The arms rest against the inner surface of the door and their inner edges partially surround the housing 4. At the advance corner of each arm is a curved tip or rounded shoe l8 which facilitates sliding or tilting of the fastener into locking position from the preliminary position indicated at the top of Fig. 2.

By applying pressure to the base M, the shoes Hi slide along the inner surface of the door without digging into it and compress the U-shaped spring portion I2. The reaction presses the housing into the door opening until the flange 8 is in firm engagement with the outer surface of the door. There is no chance of the fastener coming loose because the two resilient arms l6 project around the circular housing far enough to give support inwardly beyond the fin- 6 Claims. (Cl. -248-27) sger in, that is, a line joining the shoes 1' 8 in Fig. 8 lies well inside of a tangent to the housing :at the "point where the ringer it enters its open ing. Otherwise stated, the f'astener, when snapped :into locking position embraces the side of the housing through a small angle which is appreciably smaller than its arms l6 terminating in a line which is remote from the center 'of the housing but nearer to it than the point where the finger engages the housing. Hence the locked position is a stable one. The fastener is made in one piece from a small amount of metal. If desired, the housing 4 may have a plurality of pairs of opposite openings at different distances from the flange 6. For instance opening 8A and an opposite mate will be closer to the flange 6 than the two openings 8, and opening 83 and an opposite mate will be farther from the flange than the other openings. This compensates for differences in panel thicknesses and for other variations.

The mechanism within the housing 4 can take many forms and in this instance the instrument is shown as a thermometer. A glass or crystal 20 engages a bead 22 on the housing and is itself engaged by a dished dial plate 24. These parts are held by a metal washer 26 engaged by pressed-in lugs on the housing. A bimetallic spiral 28 is anchored at one end to an angle bracket on the dial plate and its other end is attached to an arbor 30 passing through a sleeve 3| and carrying a pointer 32.

I claim:

1. In a device for securing a flanged housing to a panel, a generally arcuate base portion having a pair of arms adapted to partially surround the housing and engage the panel, a centrally located spring portion extending from the base, interlocking means between the spring portion and the housing, and rounded shoes formed on the ends of the arms for sliding engagement with the panel when the fastener is sprung into securing position.

2. In a device for securing a flanged housing to a panel, a U-shaped spring having a lug adapted to enter an opening in the housing, and a pair of arms connected to the spring and adapted to be pressed against the inner surface of the panel in partially surrounding relation to the housing.

3. A fastener comprising a generally flat base portion having arms extending in a generally arcuate direction, a U-shaped spring portion bent up from the base portion, a finger projecting from the spring portion in a direction towards housing in an opening of a panel comprising aone-piece member having a base portion adapted to engage the panel in opposition to the housing flange, a spring integral with the base portionand interengaged near its free end with-the side of the housing to hold thespring under compression, a pair of resilient arms integral with the base portion and arching around the housing through a small angle, the ends of the arms lying in a line remote from the center of the housing but nearer to it than the point where the spring engages the housing to hold the fastener in a stable position when the latter is snapped into holding position.

6. A snap-on fastener for securing a flanged '25 Number housing in an opening in a panel comprising a one-piece member having a base portion adapted to bear against the panel, a U-shaped spring bent up from the base portion and adapted to interlock near its free end with the side of the housing, the base portion having arms embracing the side of the housing for a small portion of its circumference, the arms terminating in a line remote from the ,center ofgvthe housing but lying between-said center and the point where the spring interlocks with the housing to hold the fastener in a stable position when the spring is compressed.

FREDERICK A. NODINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,269,228 Rugg Jan. 6, 1942 v 2,388,650 Whittell et al. Nov. 6, 1945 I FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date 123,828

Great Britain Mar. '1, 1919 

